2010 9-to-5 Solstice a success!

Another year, another solstice, another great event. This years event was much larger than 2009’s, with fewer loopholes in the manifest and a whole new level of participation from the crowd.

I love the diversity of cyclists that come out for Go Means Go events, especially the 9 to 5. People come out from the woodwork to see the city at night- riding around looking for a little of this and a little of that. It takes resourcefulness, commitment, strategy…. and a couple cargo bikes are nice too. It takes dedication and drive to make it to the end. 8 hours on the bike is a long time. For many, the darkest hours- from 3-4am are most difficult. At the meet ups throughout the night, you can see the energy of the participants ebb and flow. The coffee and carbohydrates play a vital role to get everyone to the finish.

Over 100 people gathered at Gasworks Park on Saturday- Solstice evening. As with last year, there was a threat of rain- but other than a bit of chill in the wind- it was a nice night. The weather sent many people from the Solstice Parade home early, so Gasworks was fairly empty by the time we started gathering. We made the call to finish the 9 to 5 at Gasworks with breakfast as to allow for a covered area if the rains did come. Louisa Boren Park (where we finished in 2009) is nice to watch the sunrise, but totally exposed to the elements. After an hour of registering people and handing out manifests, wristbands, spokecards, and stickers- there was a brief intro to the 9 to 5, a shout out to our sponsors- and then folks were off.

Our sponsors were wonderful at this years 9 to 5. Planet Bike was very generous- illuminating the evening even more through the donation of a lot of lights from their line of products Pryme Gear, Walz Caps and Cyclelogical were all supportive with product as well. Lighthouse Roasters provided us with coffee, which was consumed far quicker than we were expecting- making it necessary to make two more stops to fill up our insulated urn.

We do what we can to promote the use of human power with Go Means Go events. With that, Dutch Bike Seattle lent us a Bakfiet for the night to transport all of the coffee, prizes, and snacks throughout the evening. A big thanks goes out to them as well. There will be another post about Ryan’s 8 hour Bakfiet adventure soon (as well as info about Dutch Bike Seattle’s big move.)

Our first stop was at the I-5 Colonnade, a location which we have used to start many races, and are so thankful to have in Seattle. Coffee, fruit, and snacks met the riders, and we also announced an opportunity for a team to win some bonus points. There was a lock secured to the railing at the Colonnade, with a key left at Flowers in the University District. The first person that could sprint up to Flowers, retrieve the key and unlock the lock would gain 5 points for their team. Ali took the points home for Team “3/5 Communist.”

3am found everyone at the somewhat difficult to find East Marginal Skate park, where muffins, granola bars and coffee were enjoyed to give the energy for the final push.

The second year of the 9 to 5, and the second year we have had the breakfast catered. Nothing makes riding your bike all night more rewarding than pulling up to a hot meal complete with coffee, juice and all the fixins. Melissa Dawn did a fantastic job (once again) and everyone ate their fill of vegan tofu scramble or an amazing fritatta. The weather turned out being nicer at the finish than it was at the start and we had a beautiful view of Downtown Seattle at sunrise, while relaxing, counting up team points, talking with other teams about their route choices and basking in the knowledge that these are the people that stayed up all night to explore our beautiful city..

After the points were tallied, we continued the raffle with the tickets that people picked up throughout the night. Lights from Planet Bike, shirts from Redline and Go Means Go and reflectors from Cyclelogical Gear went to the folks whose tickets matched those that were drawn. The big raffle winner was Kristen Forseth, who took home the Capitel H bag, that Helga made for the 9 to 5!

Team “Old Tuna” took home the win for the most points, pulling out all the stops with 2 issues of Boy’s Life, and a 1969 cover of the Seattle P.I. with the “Moon Walk” headline. They also carried the couch cushions, cinderblock, got all the safety points for lights and helmets, and brought 97 cans of food (worth 2 points each) that will be donated to a local food bank. All that, and they are also really great people. Tim and Anne, Dan, and Julian will be sharing the trophy made by local frame builder, Taylor Sizemore.

Here is the full round up of points for the teams that submitted their manifests.

428 points: “Old Tuna”

353 points: “WBC”

316 points: “Team Creepy Baby”

314 points: “3/5 Communist”

289 points: Nate & Clinton

234 points: “Better off Red”

231 points: “Lone Wolf Pack”

226 points: “Fugawi?”

221 points: “This couch pulls out but I don’t”

218 points: “Project 529 XO”

214 points: Erica, Ron, Nick, Alex, Wendy

199 points: “Leg ’em down and smack ’em, yack ’em”

195 points: “2+2=4”

186 points: “Garboyip”

176 points: Alex, Rebecca, Amy, Arlene, Tina

169 points: “No means yes!”

116 points: “No crash override”

101 points: “That’s what she said”

93 points: “Totino’s Party Pizza”

67 points: “Photogeek”

51 points: “Tron Team”

33 points: Justin

130 points: “Enforcers”

A big thanks goes to Greg, who does so much for Go Means Go. He also took a bunch of photos on his new camera (many of which were used on this post) which you can check out HERE.

The 2010 9 to 5 Solstice Scavenger Hunt was a lot of fun and we hope that everyone that came out is looking forward to more cycling events that bring together Seattle’s diverse cycling community. Check the Calendar for more events, and we’ll see you on the road!